Dear friends, We have come to the end of another year in which we have witnessed the abundant grace of our Lord, as individuals and also as a ministry. We would like to reminisce on the goodness and favor of our Lord to us by sharing some of the highlights of this year. Being a health care ministry in the middle of a pandemic and in a third world country can definitely raise doubts, and in that light, we began another year. The very first working day of this year, we had Dr. Fernando Villatoro start his first day as the new doctor here at the clinic. As many of you know, Dr. Fernando graduated in 2020, after having been blessed by scholarships and support through the King’s Kids ministry. We rejoice to see the fruits of that ministry impacting other ministries, including the clinic. Clínica Betania is located in the outskirts of Siguatepeque. A large number of our patients come from mountain villages to the north of the city. This socioeconomic range goes from poor to extremely poor families, with lack of good quality water and food. Once every year, we provide free parasite treatment plus free vitamins for children and adults in these high-risk areas. This year the activity took place on January 25-29, providing treatment to 284 patients. Some of the over-the-counter vitamins donated and brought down by many of you were used on this day. One of the greatest needs in our community has been dental care. The lack of this important care in the public health system add to its growing demand. Prayers were lifted up to be able provide dental care with the use of some equipment that had been donated to the clinic over the years. We prayed for human resources and the Lord provided Dr. Damaris Nuñez. Dr. Damaris has been coming once every week since March to care for an average of 8 patients a week. We continue to pray that the clinic may grow in its ability to provide dental care. Join us in praying for this ministry and we will keep you updated on how God is working. We have been blessed this year by the service of several churches and ministries who have come to serve along with us. They have been of great help to fill in some of the greatest needs we have had as a clinic. Our first help came in the first quarter of the year. Cassidy VanderHeiden was a 9-month intern at MEDA International Missions (MIM), a partner ministry. She helped as the logistics assistant for most of the activities that took place here at the clinic. As we began this year, we were reminiscing the many small things she did while here that are having a great impact on this ministry. This website, this update and the communication we have with you is made easier partly because of her diligent work. Thank you, Cassidy! In May, as part of a six-month internship at MIM, six college students from The Master’s University (TMU) in California, served at the clinic with various projects. We were blessed with a new website, which is now one of the main tools for updates on the clinic ministry. The interns also worked on a new inventory system for the pharmacy, and helped set up new stainless-steel shelves for the pharmacy.
On May 18th, we had a free medical brigade with the help of a local doctor and the TMU interns. We served 74 patients that day, and most of them were provided with free medicine for their treatments. Electricity issues and power outages are something we are quite acquainted with. We knew a generator would come in handy sooner or later. We were blessed by a group from Emmanuel Baptist Church from Texas, who helped install a generator that now supplies energy during outages, for both the clinic and the church. On September 20-24, we had a dental brigade, in which Dr. Drew Comerci and pastor Rick Thomas from New Life Bible Church in Colorado cared for 53 patients. Praise the Lord, the gospel was proclaimed to most of the patients during one-on-one conversations, by staff, doctors, seminary students and church leaders. The year 2021 was a year of much work. We were served by many and God allowed us to serve many others. Some of our year’s statistics are summarized below. Parasites and vitamin treated patients: 284 Dental Clinic: 174 Medical Brigade: 74
Dental Brigade: 53
Total patients seen in 2021: 2,278 As we begin this new year, we covet your prayers and support. We are looking forward to greater ministry opportunities this next year. May the Lord continue to give us strength and wisdom in serving Him. We would love to hear from you regarding specific ways you are able to serve the clinic ministry. Together for the Gospel of Christ.
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